Next-generation mobile operator 3 UK held a party on Monday
to mark its namesake date, the third day of the third month of
2003, but in reality it was another celebration of the phased
launch of Europe's first 3G, or third generation mobile phone
service.The UK arm of Hutchison 3G, majority-owned by
Hong Kong conglomerate Hutchison Whampoa, said it expected the 3G
handsets to be delivered to customers within the next two
weeks.
"We started taking orders last Thursday, now
we just have to deliver the handsets," said Keith Bradley,
Commercial Director of 3 UK, at a party to celebrate the date,
described as just another part of a "phased launch" of the third
generation (3G) service.
The management has said it should know by
Christmas whether the launch of the sophisticated but relatively
expensive cell phone service was a success. Handsets will sell for
£399 to £449 ($630-$708), though early buyers will get a
discount.
Hutchison will battle established rivals
Vodafone Group, Orange, Deutsche Telekom's T-Mobile and mmO2 after
a launch that has been delayed since early 2001 by handset
shortages and software glitches.
The other operators, which unlike UK 3 enjoy
steady revenue from current generation mobile phones, have adopted
a more cautious approach to launch their own 3G services.
Hutchison's 3 UK unit, spearheading a
nine-country launch along with Italy, seems cautiously optimistic
after months of market research on demand for 3G services including
video calls, colour video clips, picture messaging and Internet
browsing.
3 UK is offering three packages: a
pay-as-you-go deal with no monthly rental and two packages with
bundled voice, video and e-mail allowances priced at 60 and 100
pounds per month.
The costs of voice calls will range from 10 to
25 pence per minute, depending on the rival network called. Calls
to other "3" users will cost five pence per minute. The phones will
also allow users to send picture messages to current 2G
handsets.
3 UK, which is also partly owned by Japan's
NTT DoCoMo and Dutch operator KPN Telecom, sells handsets made by
Japan's NEC and U.S.-based Motorola.
Launches under the "3" brand are also planned
for Sweden, Hong Kong, Australia, Austria, Israel, Denmark and
Ireland this year, and Hutchison hopes to sell around two million
new phones in Europe by the end of this year.